Re: Mean-Eyed Cat: Cat & "Leena"
She couldn't say how long she stayed out there. Maybe it was only ten minutes. Maybe it was twenty. Maybe it fell somewhere in between there, but once her breathing slowed and she no longer felt like she was giving off heat like a space heater, she released the column. Breathed in cool air, let it settle into her bones. One thing at a time.
She had a mother. A father. A brother. A family.
Her mother was here. Her father was here. Was her brother?
And then the million dollar question, because she already knew she wanted to see them, meet them - the only question was how. And then there was that other question, the one that was solely about her - because after the facility, she'd never felt unsafe using the name Leena, which they surely would have had. Wouldn't they? She fled Prague and Europe under that name, it was on her hunting license, it was the name she used on the journals and the only reason she ever felt safe using it was because it wasn't real.
Swallowing as she opened the door, as she came back like she said she would, she blinked to see Cat at the end of the counter and offered her a small, slightly relieved smile. "Hi," she started and jammed her hands into the pockets of her jeans. "So... Um," she took a deep breath, one that brought her up to her full height and made her straighten her back. "Small steps, okay? And I have two things, I think just two things for now, that I want to ask you."